An Unconventional Way to Help in An Emergency

I’ll never forget my nurse residency program as a brand new graduate nurse. I was terrified. Not only that, I had an attitude. Gosh- to think back on how rudely I acted… it was embarrassing. (Quick side bar: The good news is I got to apologize to a room full of instructors during a future job interview, phew!)

Why was I so rude? How come I was afraid?

As I’ve shared in my bestselling book, ‘Nursing from Within‘, I never wanted to be a nurse. Blood and guts and all of that ‘nurse-y nurse’ type stuff freaked me out. And when something used to frighten me- the way I dealt with it was to show up with a sour puss face and a nasty-ass attitude. I guess I thought this protective shield would keep people away. Silly me…

Any-whoo, I digress. What does this have to do with emergency situations? Well, we had to practice them during my nurse residency program. You know, the simulation type drills. And yes, some of them were code simulations. As a psychiatric nurse, I (stupidly) thought that this was a waste of time. I never wanted to participate and stood there with that look on my face.

However, now that I am ten years old and wiser, I know understand just how significant those practice drills were. And I am completely grateful to those nurses who DO work in emergency situations. (Oh yeah, as a psych nurse who had to rotate down to the psychiatric ED as part of her role… I found myself in some pretty emergent situations!)

But why did I title the post in the way that I did? How come I wrote ‘an unconventional way’ to help out? Well, because I am not a nurse-y nurse. Nor will I ever be one. But I can give some advice on how to energetically prepare yourself and show up in an emergency.

Practice Ahead of Time. So, to actually prepare yourself to be fully present in an emergency situation, you have got to practice mindfulness in quiet. Why is this? There is SO much going on during an emergency. And if you’re distracted by the flurry of activity, you might slip up and make a small mistake. So the way to stay fully focused during an emergency is to have a routine mindfulness practice outside of work. This practice in the quiet stillness of your own home comes in handy during the busyness of any nursing shift!

Ground Your Feet. This one is VERY important. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in what is happening around us that we are lost in thought. I’ve seen this happen before- it’s like we become paralyzed by all of the activity and don’t know what to do next. If that ever happens to you, the best way to come back to the present moment (and the emergency at hand) is to ground yourself into your feet. That’s right literally feel both feet connecting with the floor. Take time to feel the physical body so that you are fully present and can help out in any way that you can.

Breathe. What does the breath have to do with an emergency? Everything! Besides the fact that the emergency may be happening because a patient in front of you is actually NOT breathing- your breath is super important to keeping the natural flow alive. Breath is our connection to spirit. It’s the life force that sustains us. To me, the very best way to be an active and helpful participant in an emergency situation is to be mindful of your own breath. Keep on breathing, first of all. And secondly, do your best to slow it down and breathe deeply. The more oxygen you can get to your own brain, the more clear you can think and the better you can assist.

I just want to close with this- emergency situations will come and go. I had MANY of them in psych with seclusion rooms, restraints, giving emergency shots, and oh yes, being kicked in the stomach. We had a code button that could be pushed if a patient swung at a nurse or any of the like. Well, my final piece of advice is this: being present and allowing yourself to be fully aware of your surroundings will help you flow through these trying times. Know that they come and go and everything will subside, returning to normal. It’s simply the nature of our work- and of the unknown. We do the best we can and that’s all we can hope for.

A final thank you to all of those nurse-y nurses who DO work those codes. Thank you for doing the work I am terrified (smile) to do!

What would you add to the above list? What are some other unconventional ways to show up and help in an emergency situation? Leave a comment below and thanks for reading.

About the Author: As a speaker, workshop facilitator, and Reiki Master, Elizabeth partners with hospitals, organizations, associations, and nursing groups to help transform the field of nursing from the inside out. As the host of the Your Next Shift Workshop, Elizabeth guides nurses and nursing students to a change in perspective, helping them make the inner shift needed to better maneuver the sometimes challenging realities of being a caregiver.

15 Comments

Keith Mac Donald
on July 24, 2015 at 9:03 am

We were initially a separate all psych facility so when we had a medical code we were on our own until EHS transport could be arranged, so with a facility going at 100-115% capacity with increasingly elderly and medically ill clients we were running an increasing number of codes and acute medical situations the bane of Psych Nurses as you pointed out already, well I worked a double shift on Christmas Eve i worked my short day as Nursing Unit Manager then I came back and worked a 12N as Nursing Supervisor, on last rounds I was getting report on my own Unit ETU when one of our client’s who was 5 days post-op from Thoracic chest surgery through a chest embolism & went into arrest, myself and one of the LPN’s on the floor spent the next 13 mins performing 2-man CPR in the doorway of the Dayward, as the other clients stepped over us to get into the room as was their morning routine. Merry Christmas Everyone, more distracted by me on the floor in white Lab Coat then their fellow Ward Mate. By the time EHS arrived we had restored pulse & breathing, as I didn’t cost the organization OT I was mandated to stay and complete the involved paperwork, Merry Christmas to me! The small favour I extended to a colleague in need turned into a much bigger deal than either of us ever thought. Another great reason to be grateful & thankful when we transferred to the larger Regional Medical Facility, pressed a button & had a 90 second wait for medical assistance, no more 13 minute sessions of CPR on a cold, windblown snowy Christmas Morning, performing chest compressions with aching arms on a purple-lipped, blue-faced where once was a ruddy complexion, sweat pouring down my face and cold sweat running down my back. And then, there just at the point of absolute collapse the third staff escorts EHS onto the UNIT, a CHRISTMAS to remember. At least I will never will never forget it.

Wow, what an experience, Keith! I guess there are some things we just never forget. At least we have these memories and can look back and learn. Also being mindful that we are doing our best to help in every way that we can. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us, we appreciate all that you do for nursing and for your patients!!

My first code was as a student nurse in ICU, it was maybe 2 long minutes before the Code team arrived. I to am a psych nurse and not much of a nursey nurse. Presently my family clinc work requires CPR/ACPR training and causes me great anxiety so your suggestions are helpful.
My most freaky clinic experience was when a baby stopped breathing, as the doctor was walking into the room, he tapped on the feet and the baby came around.

Elizabeth, I really appreciate your 3 suggestions. When I first became a nurse I wanted to work in Emergency Room, but at the time there were few nursing jobs (1995) so I got a job on a newly opened psychiatric unit ( I did not like my psych rotation so this was not my first, second or third choice).
Amazingly, this experience opened my heart and I fell in love with psych nursing. All this to say is my emergency experiences were similar to yours Elizabeth. Seclusion and restraints. Back then I did not know what I know about being energetically present in these situations and really haven’t had too many emergency situations working on a detox unit or in my private practice.
An addition to the list would be to repeat some mantras to yourself.. like I am calm and grounded or I have the skills I need to help this patient.

Breathe and keep your feet on the floor! Great advice Elizabeth.
I always remember telling nursing students to ground their feet and get near a wall….if they felt like fainting. It works in many situations!

Elizabeth thank you for revealing a part of yourself in this post. I have come across many nurses with the attitude that you described. I never thought that it may have stemmed from fear. It makes a lot of sense and will help me in the future. Thank you.

Hi Carrie Sue,
Thanks for coming by and taking the time to share your comment. Your words brought tears to my eyes. You may wonder, why? It’s because you are so right. I never told anyone of my behavior back then- why I was being rude and standoffish. And it was because I was afraid. I am so glad that being honest now in this way may help others do the same. And I am glad that you are taking this with you to help your practice in the future! Enjoy the day.

Elizabeth, I just returned from this really great cruise to Alaska where I learned about mindfulness training, of all places, from a hypnotist on the boat who taught us some techniques and he was amazing. He actually hypnotized my daughter in his show-so I know he was spot-on. He talked about mindfulness training and how it can really help you increase your awareness, productivity and keep you on top of your game, especially increasing your concentration which, as you suggest is so important during an emergency. I actually bought his CD teaching the technique. You are so right about breathing and keeping calm and how preparing yourself in life ahead of time can make such a difference. Thank you for such a wonderful post!

Thanks Elizabeth – not so long ago I was in charge of our 50 bed postpartum unit and it was a very busy day, all the nurses had a recent admission so I decided to admit the next patient and I would get her settled before passing her off to the next available nurse ~ little did I know that due to complications I would not be able to leave her room until the change of shift… I had to remind myself to breathe – When rapid response arrived they placed a larger IV and needed to change her blood pressure cuff to the opposite arm – I absolutely fumbled – a task that I could perform in the dark on my head, but in an emergency I fumbled… The ICU nurse simply put her hand on my arm and I regained composure and was able to take the lead- Grounding my feet and carrying on! thanks for the reminders

You are so welcome, Kelly. I am glad that you found the post helpful. I also appreciate you sharing a personal experience from your own career. That is great as it will help the readers of this blog remember that it’s not only them that gets hyper during an emergency. We all can use a gentle reminder to slow down, ground, and breathe.